Protector-strap attachment for harness.



No. 824,702. PATENTED JULY 3, 1906.

I W. E. BARBER PROTECTOR STRAP ATTACHMENT FOR HARNESS.

APPLIOATION FILED OOT.11, 1906.

lNvs/vTaRr Wflicxm 6X) ember I I v m I #0 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IVILLIAM E. BARBER, OF

ONE-HALF HOPE VALLEY, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR OF TO JOHN A. COREY, OF HOPKINTON,

RHODE ISLAND.

PROTECTOR-STRAP ATTACHMENT FOR HARNESS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 3, 1906.

Application filed October 11,1905. Serial No. 282,265.

To (all whont it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. BARBER, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Hope Valley, in the coruity of IVashing-ton and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Protector-Strap Attachments for Harness, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an attachment for harness; and it consists, essentially, in the combination of a short flexible protectorstrap member having its upper end tipped with metal and arranged to freely receive the hip-strap of the harness therethrough at a point above but contiguous to and in front of the hip-strap buckle, a guide slidably mounted on the protector-strap having its rear side arranged to receive and conceal the free end portion of the hipstrap, and a clip secured to the lower end of the protector-strap, whereby the latter may be removably attached to the breech-band of the harness.

The object I have in view is to provide a harness with a simple, easily-connected, and inexpensive device or attachment constructed and arranged to shield the hip strap buckle and also protect and conceal the lower portion of said strap, thereby preventing the driving-reins from getting caught thereunder, the device at the same time forming an auxiliary support or tie between the hip-strap and breech-band.

My improved safety or protector strap attac ent possesses all the features or advantages just referred to, and to which it may be added that the device further serves to prevent the horses tail from catching in the buckle or other contiguous unprotected parts of the harness which are usually exposed. The protector-strap when in use in no wise detracts from the symmetrical appearance of the harness, but instead adds to its attractiveness, since the device may be made ornamental and finished in any manner desired.

In the accompanying sheet of drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation representing my improved protector-strap attachment complete detached from the harness. Fig. 2 is a corresponding edge view. Fig. 3 is a partial side elevation in reduced scale, showing the usual manner of connecting the hip-strap with the breech-band. Fig. 4 is a similar view of the harness, showing, in addition, my

improved protector-strap attachment connected therewith as in use; and Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view, in enlarged scale, taken on line it a: of Fig. 4, showing a manner of detachably securing the strap to the breech-band.

In the drawings, Figs. 3 and 4, 7L designates the usual hip-strap of a harness m, the breech-band s, a short tie or connection having the hip-strap buckle h at its upper end and a ring 1" at the other and r 7 indicate the usual side braces secured to said ring and breech-band, as clearly shown. The hipstrap is buckled to the said tie 3, whereby the former supports the band m. The portion of the strap 7L below the buckle is quite liable to curl, even when a keeper is used, there by producing a wedge-shaped space f between it and the tie s, as indicated in Fig. 3. The driving-reins sometimes get caught in this space f, and the latter, as well as the exposed buckle 77., form traps in which hairs from the horses tail find lodgment.

In carrying out my invention the protector-strap attachment device A comprises the short flexible strap proper, a, preferably made of leather, the lower end clip 0, of metal, the upper end metal tip b, and the intermediate slidable guide d. I prefer to make the width of said member (1 equal to or slightly exceeding that of the hip-strap. The said tipb is made of thin sheet metal and secured to the strap a by rivets or other suitable means. Its upper end is reduced in width, bent rearwardly, and terminates in an eye I), carrying awire loop 6 the latter being adapted to freely receive the hip-strap. The said guide (1 is, as drawn, slidably mounted on the strap a and has a loop (1 at its back to receive and hold the free end of the hip-strap. The clip 0 is secured to the lower end of the strap a and is provided at the back with an elongated upwardly-extending tongue 0. As

drawn, the clip forms a hook having a slightly resilient tongue adapted to be hooked into the loop a of the metal plate or disk n. This latter is rigidly secured to the breech-band of the harness in any suitable wayas, for example, by means of small rivets. The plate not only forms a base to which the ends of the loop n are fastened, but it also serves to prevent the tongue 0 from chafing the band. (See Fig. 5.)

The manner of attaching the protectorstrap A to the harness is as follows: The hipstrap is first unbuckled from the buckle h. The end of the strap is then passed down through the loop I) of the protector-strap, followed by resecuring the hip-strap to the buckle. The slide (1 is then adjusted on the strap a and the free end of the hip-strap passed through its loop or eye d, followed by hooking the clip 0 into the loop or, previously secured to the breech-band, the latter being lifted slightly to facilitate the attachment, thereby completing the operation. When the protector-strap device A is thus connected with the harness, it will appear substantially as represented in Fig. 4, wherein it practically conceals and protects the buckle and also the portion of the hip-strap extending below the top of the buckle. The device also forms an auxiliary supportingtie between the hip-strap and breech-band, thereby to some extent relieving the weight from the braces r. The device presents a smooth unobstructed exterior surface, while at the same time being su'l'ticiently flexible.

I claim as my invention- 1. As a new article of manufacture, a pro tector-strap attachment for harness having its upper and lower ends arranged to engage the hip-strap and breech-band respectively.

2. The protector-strap attachment herein described, consisting of the flexible strap member a, the tip I) secured to one end of said strap provided with a loop to receive the hipstrap of a harness, a clip secured to the other end of the strap a, whereby the device is adapted to be detachably secured to the breech-band, and a guide or keeper slidably mounted on they strap a arranged to receive the lower end of the hip-strap.

3. The combination, in a harness, with the supported hip-strap and the breech-band provided with a fixed loop or eye, of the protector-strap attachment A herein described provided with means whereby it is adapted to be detachably secured to said hip-strap and breech-band.

Signed at Providence, Rhode Island, this 10th day of October, 1905.

WILLIAM E. BARBER.

Vitnesses:

Geo. 'H. REMINGTON, C. E. INcE. 

